Hurricane Katrina ravages the Gulf Coast in 2005 while an earthquake savages Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. In 2004, a crushing tsunami rises out of the Indian Ocean. A terrorist attack paralyzes a nation on a mid-September morning in 2001. Every two minutes, an American is raped. Over six million are involved in car accidents annually. One to three million are victims of domestic violence in our country every year. And then there are those who are sent to combat. All are susceptible to something we call PTSD: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Next month, on March 19, 2007, we arrive at the four-year mark of the start of the Iraq War. Seven months later, on October 7, 2007, six years will have passed since the war in Afghanistan began. Since then, nearly 1.5 million American men and women – representing about one half of one percent of the nation’s total population – have worn our nation’s uniform and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation Enduring Freedom. Nearly 3,200 have been killed in action thus far, and over 23,000 have been wounded.
In addition, nearly 150,000 have filed disability claims; over 100,000 of which have been granted, with another 30,000+ claims pending review. It is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 OEF/OIF vets are already homeless. Many have multiple deployments under their belts. For now, at least 38,000 returning troops carry invisible marks on their souls of one degree or another and are being treated by the Veterans Administration for psychological injuries once labeled nostalgia, shell shock or combat fatigue. Today we call it post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
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http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/11196
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